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About Numbered Notation

All steps
  1. The numbers are the notes of a scale
  2. “1=C” tells you where to start
  3. Dots make a note higher or lower
  4. How long each note lasts
  5. 0 means rest
  6. Bar lines and the time signature
  7. Curves: ties and slurs
  8. The words sit under the numbers
  9. Repeat signs and 1. 2. endings
  10. Minor keys: “6=A”
  11. Put it together: a line of a hymn
  12. Check yourself
  13. Try it on a hymn

The numbers are the notes of a scale

Numbered notation (jianpu, 简谱) writes a melody as numbers instead of notes on a staff. You do not need to read music: take one small step at a time and press Play on any example to hear it while each number lights up. Sound only starts when you press Play.

Instead of notes on a staff, each note is a number from 1 to 7. They are the seven steps of the scale you already know: do re mi fa sol la ti. After 7 the scale starts again at 1.

The seven numbers with their names. Press Play and say each name as its number lights up.
Sing along: do re mi fa sol, and back down to do.

If you can sing do re mi, you can already sing every number from 1 to 7. Tap or click any number to hear just that note.

“1=C” tells you where to start

At the top left of the sheet you will see something like 1=C. It means the number 1 (do) is the note C, and every other number counts up from there. 1=G means do is G, so the whole tune sits a little higher. Nothing else changes: the same numbers make the same shape, only higher or lower.

1=C: do is C.
1=G: the same numbers, starting higher.

Not sure where C is? On a piano it is the white key just left of the two black keys. Or ignore the letter and start on any note that is comfortable for your voice: the tune only has to keep its shape. The − and + key buttons on a hymn page shift the key for you.

Dots make a note higher or lower

A dot above a number means one octave higher. A dot below means one octave lower. Two dots mean two octaves. No dot is the middle range, where most of a tune lives. The name stays the same; only the height changes.

The same number at three heights: dot below, no dot, dot above.
A tune that climbs: it starts on a low sol and ends on a high do.

How long each note lasts

Tap your foot at a steady pace: each tap is a beat. A plain number lasts one beat, so you sing a new number on every tap. Dashes, lines and dots change that.

A plain number is one beat

Four numbers, four beats: one number for each tap.

A dash holds the note longer

Each dash adds one beat. The 5 lasts two beats and the 3 lasts four.

A line underneath makes it shorter

One line is half a beat, so two underlined numbers share one beat. (Two lines are a quarter of a beat.)

A dot after makes it half as long again

A dot after a number adds half its length. The first 5 lasts a beat and a half, and the short 3 fills the rest of the second beat.

0 means rest

A 0 is silence for one beat. Keep counting and keep tapping, but do not sing. Dashes after a 0 make the silence longer, just as they hold a note longer.

Sing 1 3 5, stay quiet for one beat, then come back down. Rests light up too, so you can feel the pause.

Bar lines and the time signature

Tall lines cut the music into bars, each holding the same number of beats. The two small numbers at the start, like 4/4 or 3/4, say how many: 4/4 is four beats in every bar, 3/4 is three. The first beat of each bar is the strongest, so lean on it a little. A double line with a thick edge marks the end.

4/4: count 1 2 3 4, 1 2 3 4. The first beat of each bar sounds a little louder.
3/4: count 1 2 3, 1 2 3, the lilt of a waltz.

Curves: ties and slurs

A curve over numbers joins them. If it joins two of the same number, it is a tie: sing the note once and hold it for both. If it joins different numbers, it is a slur: sing them all on one syllable, gliding from one to the next.

A tie: the 5 is sung once and held across the bar line, six beats in all.
A slur: “Him” is sung on two notes, 3 then 2.

The words sit under the numbers

Each number gets one syllable, written right underneath it. A short dash after part of a word means the word carries on under the next number. If a number has nothing under it, it belongs to a curve or a dash: keep singing the syllable you are on.

Read left to right, one syllable for each number: Twin-kle, twin-kle, lit-tle star.

Repeat signs and 1. 2. endings

A bar line with two dots, :|, means go back and sing that part again, from the matching |: sign (or from the start if there is none). Sometimes the repeat has two endings. Sing ending 1. the first time; on the repeat, skip it and sing ending 2. instead.

Play it: you hear the 1. ending, the repeat, then the 2. ending. Watch the highlight jump back.

Minor keys: “6=A”

A song in a minor key, which usually sounds more serious or tender, is labeled like 6=A instead of 1=C. It means the number 6 (la) is the home note, here A. The numbers keep their usual names; the tune simply feels at home on 6 and often ends there. 6=A uses the same notes as 1=C.

It starts and ends on 6 (la), the home note. Listen to the darker colour.

Put it together: a line of a hymn

This is the first line of hymn 8, “Praise God, from whom all blessings flow”, written in numbered notation. Try the slow tempo first, and sing the words as each number lights up.

1=G in 4/4. Three silent beats, then “Praise” on beat 4. The dots under 7, 6 and 5 mean those notes dip one octave lower.

Check yourself

Four quick questions, with no score and no pressure. Tap an answer to see right away why it is right or wrong. You can always try another answer.

Tap the number that is held the longest.

Tap the 5 that is one octave higher than the first 5.

What does a 0 mean?

Under 1=G, which note is the number 1?

Try it on a hymn

You opened this from a hymn that has a Numbered view, so you can try it right now.

  1. Look at the top left of the sheet: the key, such as 1=D, and the time signature, such as 3/4.
  2. Find the first number and sing it. Then follow the numbers from left to right with the words underneath, one syllable for each number. Press Play in the player to hear the recording while you follow.
  3. Letters above the numbers (C, G7) are chords for a guitarist or pianist. Ignore them while you learn the tune.
  4. To be guided, open the Learn tab and press Play. Under Display, set Learn notation to Numbered (or choose Numbered on the Lead Sheet tab first). For hymns that have numbered lines, each line of numbers scrolls into view in time with the recording while a bouncing ball follows the words; other hymns show the piano notation there. The Speed menu slows it down.

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One day when heaven was filled with His praises

Gospel The Savior

English987
1
One day when heaven was filled with His praises,
One day when sin was as black as could be,
Jesus came forth to be born of a virgin—
Dwelt among men, my example is He!
 
Living, He loved me; dying, He saved me;
Buried, He carried my sins far away;
Rising, He justified freely forever:
One day He’s coming—O glorious day!
2
One day they led Him up Calvary’s mountain,
One day they nailed Him to die on the tree;
Suffering anguish, despised and rejected;
Bearing our sins, my Redeemer is He.
3
One day they left Him alone in the garden,
One day He rested, from suffering free;
Angels came down o’er His tomb to keep vigil;
Hope of the hopeless, my Savior is He.
4
One day the grave could conceal Him no longer,
One day the stone rolled away from the door;
Then He arose, over death He had conquered;
Now is ascended, my Lord evermore.
5
One day the trumpet will sound for His coming,
One day the skies with His glory will shine;
Wonderful day, my beloved ones bringing;
Glorious Savior, this Jesus is mine!

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Jim Smith

Mansfield, Ohio, United States

Apr 24, 2026

This is a wonderful testimony of what must of been be the writer’s experience of salvation.

Earlier in the week, I went to a local campus with some brothers to preach the gospel. It was wonderful to see people get saved and see their reaction to that initial salvation.

When I saw this song this morning, I realized the chorus is truly the Gospel of initial salvation in a nutshell shell (a seed). It is the basic rudimentary experience of salvation that Paul preached and clearly unfolded in 1 Corinthians chapter 15. You have to believe it!

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Ivy Yeo

Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom

Jul 21, 2025

Beautiful Hymn. Will always love it.

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Patience Kyungupengu

Solwezi, Northwestern, Zambia

Jan 13, 2025

This hymn brings to light the need for personal evangelism. Our testimony is that as Jesus has brought us out of the kingdom of darkness to his marvelous light, so we too should share the wonderful gospel of unconditional love and hope to those going through various emotional, physical, social and spiritual turmoil. It's Christ the power and wisdom of God in us at work and not we ourselves. Amen.

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Eveline Taylor

Pottstown, PA, United States

Dec 14, 2024

The chorus to this hymn lays out the theology to salvation: "Living He oved me, dying He saved me, buried He carried my sins far away, rising He justified, freely forever. One day He's coming, Oh glorious day."

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Ann Muiruri

Nairobi, Kenya

Jun 25, 2024

This song has been in my spirit for the last two days.. we used to sing it over 20 yrs back in high school... since that time it has never again in my heart... but for last two days it comes at night .. until I had to look for it... I than God because am meditating it over and over again.. Thank Jesus that you reigns in my heart.

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Pamela Beary

Oswego, IL, United States

Jun 14, 2024

For some reason this hymn came to mind this morning…I have not heard it sung in years. It really is the gospel - it’s all about Jesus, my Redeemer, Savior, and coming King! In my weakness, His strength is perfected…Christ be magnified!

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Gabriel Konayuma

Lusaka, Zambia

May 21, 2024

This is a hymn among hymns. It's been on my mind the past few days. We used to sing it at Scripture Union meetings in the 80s. It's a glorious declaration of the Person and Work of Christ. It is a song that deserves to be sung again and again in our churches and Christian meetings.

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Ana Lara

Storrs, Connecticut, United States

Sep 23, 2023

Wilbur Chapman, the writer of this hymn was born in 1859 and died in 1918. He is best known for the hymn, Jesus What A Friend For Sinners. It was written from experiences in his personal life. At the age of 51, when he wrote the hymn, he had gone through his share of heartache. His first two wives and a son died within a period of about 20 years, leaving him alone with four children in his 40s. Yet his persistent focus on evangelism led many in North America and Asia to Christ. Chapman joined several evangelism teams in the Philadelphia area that resulted in the conversion of many-a-sinner. It was following the death of his second wife, as Wilbur prepared to marry for a third time, that he wrote the hymn about his friend Jesus. He had begun preaching with D. L. Moody in 1863, as well as leading some evangelistic events on his own. Chapman was also involved in promoting Christian summer conferences. For a while, he was the director of the Winona Lake Bible Conference in Indiana. He also helped to establish Bible conferences in Montreat, North Carolina, and the Stony Brook Assembly conferences on Long Island. Wilbur expended all his energy as he ministered, and as a result, suffered at least 13 serious breakdowns with his health over the course of his career, being laid up for extended periods during his latter years.

First stanza:

Jesus! What a friend of sinners!
Jesus lover of my soul;
Friends may fail me,
Foes assail me,
He, my Savior, makes me whole.

Refrain:
Hallelujah! What a Savior!
Hallelujah! What a friend!
Saving, helping, keeping, loving,
He is with me to the end
(Commentary by Lewis-Els Codington)

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Carol McFarlane

London, United Kingdom

Nov 6, 2022

Was reminded of this hymn by another member of our group on an oak hall trip to israel recently.. The lyrics are so Christ focused and helpful to preach the gospel to myself before I preach it to others. Glad to have access to all the verses.

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Amina Banda

Ndola, Copperbelt, South Africa

Oct 15, 2022

A glorious hymn

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